North Carolina is in the middle of a mad dash to redraw unconstitutionally gerrymandered district maps. Yesterday, the NCGOP created a ruse to force a favorable vote to override a budget veto by the governor. This state has a significant manufactured state surplus. And our state superintendent, who procured surreptitious contracts with ClassWallet and iStation, … Continue reading We Have A Large State Surplus And My State Superintendent Introduces Me To DonorsChoose.org

Rob Schofield posted a piece last April on NC Policy Watch that reported on an effort for all of North Carolina’s public employees to have collective bargaining rights. More than 600,000 public employees throughout North Carolina would obtain a right that’s been denied to them for 60 years under a pair companion bills introduced in the … Continue reading What Tim Moore Did Yesterday Proves That NC Teachers (And All Public Employees) Should Have Collective Bargaining Rights

“But above the gray land and the spasms of bleak dust which drift endlessly over it, you perceive, after a moment, the eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg. The eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg are blue and gigantic — their irises are one-yard high. They look out of no face, but, instead, from a … Continue reading The Eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg Are Now Staring At Moore, Berger, and Lewis

On the anniversary of the most horrific terrorist act to ever happen on American soil.                      

Put aside the fact that Sen. Phil Berger seems to be "put off" by the fact that Gov. Cooper is playing hardball politics that Berger has been playing for his entire politial career. Actually Berger really needs to get out a positive narrative with the recent decision on the gerrymandered maps in NC, a possible … Continue reading Not Really “Bipartisan” – About Phil Berger’s Op-Ed On Cooper’s Veto Concerning Read to Achieve

In a recent EdNC.org op-ed, Rhonda Dillingham, Executive Director of the North Carolina Association for Public Charter Schools, defended North Carolina's charter schools from criticism concerning perpetuating segregation. She said, "Since then (1996), charter schools, which will always be free and open to all, have offered exceptional student learning environments and created opportunities for all students nationwide … Continue reading Are NC’s Charter Schools Diverse As The NC Association of Public Charter Schools Claims? The Numbers Don’t Say So.

Stop extending massive tax cuts to corporations and wealthy people. Maybe we as a state should not keep extending more corporate tax cuts for businesses and people who make significantly more than the average North Carolinian. We haven’t really seen the trickle-down effect from that here in our schools. Refund Unused Opportunity Grant Money. The money that … Continue reading Before a Policy Maker Claims That “We Will Have To Raise Taxes On People To Fully Fund NC Schools,” Tell Him To Consider These Measures First

The following screen capture is from Speaker Tim Moore's webpage (dated August 21st): There is over $900 million dollars in "surplus," or to put it another way, there is $900 million dollars that the NCGA decided not to use for the people in North Carolina by not investing in our schools and infrastructure. Oh, and … Continue reading If The NCGA Wants To Prolong The Budget Process, They Should Meet In An Elementary School Trailer

Dear public school teachers, administrators, support staff, and education personnel, You can’t really be measured. In fact, those who are measuring you do not have instruments complex enough to really gauge your effectiveness. If you are a public school teacher / professional in North Carolina, you are always under a bit of a microscope when … Continue reading No School Performance Grade Can Truly Tell Us What Schools Do

If the NCGA wants to argue that the current school performance grading system is a just and fair way to assess school achievement and school effectiveness, then it might be worth looking at the schools under the guise of the education "reforms" that the same NCGA wants to tout as solutions. There are two virtual … Continue reading Using The School Performance Grading System On The NCGA’s “Educational Reforms” – Looking At Virtual Charters, ISD, and Other Charters